George  Washington  Flowers 
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MARCUS  S.  ZIMMERMAN; 


poralait^  8$li0wus!  ^raiuiitg 


OP 


CHILDREN, 

BY 

Rev.  a.  J.  HUNTINGTON, 

PASTOR   OF   THE   FIRST  BAPTIST   CHURCH,    AUGUSTA,    GA. 


MACON,   GA: 

QKOBGIA  BAPTIST  BIBLE  AND   COL.    SOCIETT,  F.   M.    HATGOOD,   AGENT. 
1863. 


XoTE. — Tiio  obftaary  notice  witii  which  this  tract  is  intro- 
duced, appeared,  about  two  years  ago,  in  the  Christian  In- 
dex. Not  long  after  it  was  published,  it  was  suggested  to 
the  writer,  by  a  very  distinguished  clergymen  of  the  State, 
to  prepare  a  tract,  containing  the  substance  of  that  obituary, 
together  with  such  remarks  as  miglit  seem  appropriate,  upon 
ihe  religious  education  of  the  young.  Various  causes,  how- 
msVf  have  delayed  the  preparation  of  the  following  pages. 


MARCUS  S.  ZIMMERMAN; 

OR  TIIE  '^*^  *     ^*- 

Poval  and  fctigiaiis  ivaluiug 


Died,  at  the  residence  of  his  fiitlier,  iu  Au- 
gusta, oil  the  29th  of  November,  1860,  at  the 
age  of  four  j^ears,  Marcus  S.  Zimmerman,  son 
of  Mr.  E.  P.  afid  Mrs.  Bettie  M.  ZimiDermau^ 
and  grandson  of  the  late  Rev.  Thomas  Mere- 
dith^ of  Raleigh,  N.  C.  He  was  a  boy  of  un- 
common sprigbtliness  and  of  very  attractive 
qualities.  He  was  blessed  with  christian  pa- 
rents, who  endeavored,  at  home,  to  bring  him 
up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord, 
and  who,  as  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  re- 
ceive religious  instruction,  also  guided  his  little 
feet  to  the  Sunday  School.  Nor  were  their 
efforts  for  his  spiritual  welfare  in  vain ;  for  he 
showed;  in  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life,  that 
the  truths  of  the  gospel  had  made  an  impres- 
sion upon  his  infant  soul.  Some  days  before 
his  death,  and  while  he  was  bntshghtly  unwell; 

P42665 


lie  said,  as  he  awoke  in  the  morning,  "  I  want 
to  die  and  go  to  lieaven."  As  his  disease  in- 
creased in  severity,  he  bore  his  intense  suffer- 
ings without  fretfulness  or  murmuring,  A  few 
hours  previous  to  his  death,  he  called  his  moth- 
er to  him,  and  gave  her  a  farewell  kiss;  then 
looked  anxiously  around  the  room,  as  if  in 
search  of  some  one  else,  and,  upon  being  asked 
whom  he  wanted,  replied,  "  Papa."  His  father 
was  then  called  in  from  an  adjoining  room,  and 
the  little  sufferer,  with  a  kiss,  bade  him  adieu. 
In  like  manner  he  took  leave  of  his  grandmoth- 
er, and  other  membere  of  the  family  and  friends 
who  stood  around  his  dying  bed,  and  of  some 
of  the  servants  of  the  household  for  whom  Le 
had  sent.  Then,  while  in  view  of  such  a  scene, 
all  that  were  gathered  around  him  were  in  tears, 
but  while  a  sweet  serenity  marked  the  counte- 
nance of  the  dying  child,  his  weeping  father 
said  to  him,  ""Son,  where  are  you  going?" 
His  instant  reply,  with  the  calm  and  trustful 
look  of  the  christian,  was,  "To  Jesus."  A  few 
minutes  after  this  he  exclaimed,  "Papa,  I'm 
there !"  "  Where,  son  ?"  "  To  Jesus,"  was  the 
answer.  Presently  he  said,  *'  Mamma,  I  see 
Jesus."  Then  he  requested  his  father  to  pray 
that  the  doctors  might  make  him  well.  His 
father  replied  that  he  had  done  so,  but  that 
Christ  wanted  him  with  him,  and  that  he  must 


ask  him  to  take  his  little  spirit  to  heaven.  He 
cahnlj  responded,  "  I  can  get  on  my  knees  now 
and  ask  him  to  take  my  little  spirit  to  heaven," 
and  thereupon  he  attempted  to  rise  up,  but  his 
mother  dissuaded  him,  telling  him  he  could 
pray  as  he  lay  in  bed.  Turning  quickly  to  her 
he  said,  "  Mamma,  tell  me  the  words  to  say." 
She  pronounced  for  him  the  words,  "Lord  Je- 
sus, receive  my  spirit ;"  but  her  voice  was  stifled 
so  that  she  could  proceed  no  further ;  but  the 
child  repeated  these  words  after  her,  and  then, 
of  his  own  accord,  added,  "  To  reign  with  God 
in  light  forever  and  ever.  Amen."  This 
prayer,  so  far  as  is  known,  no  one  had  ever 
taught  him.  But  a  few  minutes  after  this  he 
expired. 

How  bitter  a  thing  it  must  have  been  for 
those  fond  parents  to  carry  away,  from  the  home 
of  which  he  had  been  the  music  and  the  joy, 
and  to  cover  up  in  the  dark  grave,  a  child  of 
such  loveliness  and  such  promise !  But  how 
full  of  consolation  to  them  was  the  thought, 
that  Jesus  had,  in  infinite  kindness,  taken  him 
to  the  heavenly  mansions,  where  he  will  have 
no  more  temptation,  nor  sorrow,  nor  crying, 
nor  pain. 

"  He  died  to  sin  ;  he  died  to  care ; 

But  for  a  moment  felt  the  rod ; 

Then,  rising  on  the  viewless  air, 

Spread  his  light  wings,  and  soared  to  God." 


P42660 


Now  there  is  a  lesson  of  grand  importance 
which  the  life  and  death  of  little  Marcus  Zim- 
merman should  impress  upon  our  minds. — 
Though  he  was  but  four  years  of  age,  the  re- 
markable words  he  uttered  in  the  closing  scenes 
of  his  life,  afford  us  grounds  for  believing  that 
he  had  a  sufficient  apprehension  of  the  char- 
acter of  Christ  to  aoc-ept  him,  and  lean  upon 
him,  as  his  Saviour.  In  view,  then,  of  tlie  evi- 
dence which  he  and  other  children  of  like  age 
have  given  of  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  is  it  not  an 
obvious  duty,  and  have  we  not  the  most  cheer- 
ing encouragement,  to  labor  diligently  for  the 
religious  instruction  of  our  offspring,  and  to  seek 
to  guide  them,  even  at  this  early  period,  to  the 
fold  of  the  Great  Shepherd  ? 

Now,  the  moral  training  of  children  and 
youth  is  a  subject,  which,  though  viewed  merely 
with  reference  to  the  present  life,  ought  to  en- 
gage the  serious  attention  of  all  good  and  con- 
siderate men,  and,  especially,  of  discerning 
patriots  and  philanthropists;  for  children  soon 
take  the  places  of  their  parents,  assuming  the 
control  of  society  and  the  government  of  states. 
And  they  generally  carry  with  them  into  all 
the  subsequent  periods  of  life  the  sentiments, 
and  principles,  and  habits,  which  they  adopt  in 
their  early  years.  From  the  character,  then, 
which  the  children  and  youth  of  a  country,  and 


especially  of  a  republican  countr}^,  bear,  we 
may  almost,  with  certainty,  determine  what  its 
future  fortunes  will  be.  And  the  efforts  we  are 
now  making,  at  an  expense  of  so  much  treas- 
ure and  blood,  to  acquire  our  national  inde- 
pendence, will  be  of  but  little  avail,  if  we  per- 
mit those  who  are  growing  up  under  our  care, 
and  who  will  soon  wield  our  country's  destinies, 
now  to  form  habits  of  disobedience  to  parents, 
of  idleness,  insincerity,  pride  and  revenge, — 
habits  which  will  soon  yield  the  bitter  fruits  of 
insubordination  to  civil  authority,  intemperance, 
licentiousness,  dishonesty,  demagogism,  bloody 
riots,  intestine  strifes,   revolution  and  anarchy. 

But  if  the  moral  education  of  our  children  is 
a  matter  of  so  great  moment,  even  in  reference 
to  this  world,  how  much  more  important  does 
it  appear,  when  we  consider  that  they  are  en- 
dowed with  an  immortal  nature,  and  are  soon  to 
enter  upon  another  state  of  being,  in  which 
their  condition  and  happiness  are  to  depend 
upon  the  characters  they  now  develop.  Not 
only  their  temporal,  but  their  eternal  destinies 
are  committed  to  our  care. 

Most  seriously,  then,  and  solemnly  should 
parents  ponder  the  nature  of  this  great  trust. 
They  feel  that,  in  no  small  degree,  it  is  for  their 
offspring  they  desire  to  live.  But  surely  it  is 
to  the  welfare  of  our  children,  not  merely  for 


8 


the  few  years  of  time,  but  especially  for  the 
countless  centuries  of  eternity,  that  we  should 
have  respect.  So  far,  then,  as  our  attention  to 
them  is  concerned,  we  should  regard  their  re- 
ligious training  as  the  great  object  of  our  lives 
— the  one,  in  comparison  with  which  every 
other  interest  of  theirs  sinks  into  insignificance. 
The  wealth  we  labor  to  acquire  for  them  will  do 
them  but  little  good.  Death  will  deprive  them 
of  the  estates  they  inherit,  almost  as  soon  as  they 
possess  them.  But  it  is  of  unspeakable  impor- 
tance to  secure  for  them  treasures  in  heaven, 
which  they  may  enjoy  forever.  And  yet  hovv 
many  hours  fiithers  and  mothers  are  accustomed 
daily  to  spend,  in  order  to  lay  up  earthly  goods 
for  their  children,  while  they  give  scarcley  a 
thought  to  their  everlasting  concerns. 

So,  too,  the  cultivation  of  the  intellects  of 
our  children,  is  far  less  important,  than  the 
training  of  their  moral  and  religious  faculties. 
For  their  mental  development,  though  it  en- 
larges their  means  of  usefulness  and  enjoyment, 
increases  nevertheless,  their  power  of  mischief 
and  their  capacity  of  suffering.  Nor  can  the 
highest  intellectual  culture  qualify  them  for  the 
purity  of  heaven.  But  though  the  religious 
education  of  children  is  so  much  more  impor- 
tant than  their  intellectual  improvement,  yet 
schools  for  mental  discipline  are  established  all 


9 


over  the  land,  and  parents  require  their  chil- 
dren to  spend  hours  in  them,  each  day,  in  pa- 
tient study;  while  in  most  families  that  are 
even  styled  christian,  scarcely  the  slightest 
pains  are  systematically  bestowed  upon  the 
moral  training  of  the  young. 

Nor  will  it  be  of  much  avail  to  our  children, 
if  we  should  procure  for  them  earthly  honors, 
or  even  fame,  for  the  few  years  of  life  ;  but  it 
will  be  of  infinite  value  to  them  to  gain  the 
smiles  of  God,  and  the  approbation  of  all  the 
good  for  the  everlasting  ages.  And  yet  how 
solicitous  parents  are  to  acquire  for  their  sons 
and  daughters  influence  and  distinction  in  so- 
ciety ;  but  how  little  effort  they  put  forth  to 
secure  for  them  the  praise  of  their  final  Judge  ! 

No,  parents,  even  those  who  profess  to  be 
christians,  do  not  generally  make  it  one  of  their 
chief  concerns  to  prepare  their  children  for  the 
service  of  God  on  earth,  and  for  his  presence 
in  heaven.  They  seem  more  anxious  that  their 
children  should  be  great,  than  that  they  should 
be  good ;  that  they  should  be  supplied  with 
comforts  in  this  world,  than  that  they  should  be 
happy  in  eternity ;  that  they  should  make  a 
fine  display  in  human  society  for  a  day,  than 
that  they  should  shine  as  stars  in  the  kingdom 
of  God  forever.  But,  like  Hannah,  we  ought 
to  feel  that  we  have  received  our  children  from 


10 


the  Lord,   and  to   determine  to  lend  them  to 
him,  and  to  bring  them  up  as  he  requires. 

In  view,  then,  of  the  momentous  consequences 
which  depend  on  the  moral  and  religious  train- 
ing of  the  young,  we  should  enter  on  this  part 
of  their  education  as  soon  as  they  are  capable 
of  receiving  it,  and  continue  it  as  long  as  they 
are  under  our  influence.  Just  as  soon  as  they 
are  old  enough  to  entertain  right  and  wrong 
notions,  just  so  soon  we  should  begin  to  foster 
in  them  what  is  good,  and  root  out  what  is  evil. 
Just  as  soon  as  they  can  comprehend  our  mean- 
ing, we  should  teach  them  to  cherish  benevo- 
lence, and  love,  and  compassion,  and  forgive- 
ness ;  and  to  overcome  all  malice,  and  selfish- 
ness, and  envy,  and  revenge.  We  should  en- 
courage them  to  practice  justice,  and  kindness, 
and  forbearance;  and  always  to  abstain  from 
wrong  and  cruelty,  and  impatience.  We  should 
show  them  the  loveliness  and  excellence  of 
truth  and  ingenuousness;  and  the  hatefulness 
and  meanness  of  falsehood  and  insincerity. 
We  should  urge  them  to  cultivate  purity  of 
thought  and  modesty  of  behaviour;  and  to 
avoid  all  indelicacy  and  vulgarity.  And  we 
should  incite  them  to  be  firm  and  bold  in  resist- 
ing what  is  evil,  and  in  adhering  to  what  is 
good.  In  a  word,  we  should  endeavor  to  make 
our   children  in  principle  and  character  now 


11 


what  we  wish  them  to  be  in  after  life.  We 
should  not  be  content  with  their  retaining  for 
a  day  a  single  fault  which  we  are  unwilling 
they  should  carry  into  mature  age;  for  the 
longer  it  remains,  the  harder  to  eradicate  does 
st  become.  If  we  cannot  cure  their  moral  de- 
fects while  their  minds  are  yet  tender  and  pli- 
able, how  can  we  hope  to  overcome  their  evil 
propensities  when  they  shall  have  been  strength- 
ened by  increasing  age,  and  shall  have  acquired 
the  force  of  fixed  habits  ?  And  we  may  here 
remark  that  we  should  not,  as  so  many  thought- 
less parents  do,  tolerate,  and  even  encourage 
real  faults  in  children,  because  these  faults  may 
amuse  us,  and  maj^  give  them  an  appearance  of 
smartness  in  their  early  3^ears-,  for  that  which 
may  seem  to  us  innocent  and  diverting  in  their 
childhood,  may,  by  constant  indulgence,  be- 
come, in  later  life,  a  serious  blemish,  or  even  a 
great  vice,  subjecting  both  them  and  us  to  sor- 
row and  shame. 

But,  in  order  to  correct  the  faults  of  children, 
we  should  present  to  them  the  proper  motives 
for  the  cultivation  of  virtue,  rather  than  appeal 
to  their  fear  of  bodily  suffering ;  and  yet,  as 
punishment  must  sometimes  be  inflicted  on  per- 
sons of  mature  age,  in  order  to  restrain  them 
from  wronsT'doino^,  so,  if  ''  foolishness  is  bound 
m  the  heart  of  a  child,   the  rod  of  correction 


12 


must  now  and  then  be  used,  to  "  drive  it  from 
him."  Bat,  if  we  must  resort  to  this  remedy^ 
we  should  apply  it^  not  in  anger,  but  in  love. 
But  let  the  foults  of  children  be  cured,  cured 
by  mild  means,  if  possible ;  if  not,  by  those  of 
a  sterner  character.  Who  would  not  regard  it 
as  cruel  to  suffer  a  child  to  grow  op  with  some 
bodily  defect  or  disease^  which  might,  with 
proper  care^  be  removed  ?  How  much  more 
unkind  it  really  is  to  permit  his  evil  disposition 
to  remain  unsubdued,  which,  if  not  restrained, 
will  bring  misery  upon  himself,  as  well  as  oth- 
ers, both  here  and  forever. 

But  we  should  also  enter  upon  the  more 
strictly  religious  education  of  our  children  just 
as  soon  as  they  can  comprehend  the  truths  we 
wish  to  impress.  And  they  become  aapable  of 
receiving  this  kind  of  instruction  at  a  much 
earlier  period  than  we  generally  suppose.  Hun- 
dreds of  instances  of  the  conversion  of  children 
at  the  age  of  five  or  six  years  have  been  put  on 
record,  in  order  to  stimulate  us  to  strive  for  the 
spiritual  improvement  of  our  offspring  from 
their  infancy.  As  soon  as  they  are  capable  of 
forming  an  idea  of  God,  their  creator  and  pre- 
server, so  soon  should  they  be  made  acquainted 
with  his  character,  and  taught  to  reverence  and 
serve  him.  As  soon  as  they  are  old  enough  to 
understand   what   any   of  his  commands  are. 


13 


so  soon  should  they  be  taught  to  obey  them. 
As  soon  as  they  can  entertain  sentiments  of  re- 
gard and  veneration  for  great  and  noble  char- 
acters, like  Washington  and  Howard,  so  soon 
should  they  be  taught  to  admire  and  love  the 
blessed  Savdour.  And  as  soon  as  they  have 
learned  what  it  is  to  confide  in  parents  and 
friends,  so  soon  should  they  be  taught  to  entrust 
their  souls  to  Jesus  for  salvation.  And  yet 
parents  seem  to  suppose  that  it  is  necessary  for 
their  children  to  pass  through  years  of  tempta- 
tion and  peril,  if  not  of  actual  vice,  and  to  form, 
and  for  a  long  time  to  practice,  the  habit  of  re- 
belling against  God,  and  of  rejecting  Christ 
before  they  can  begin  to  hate  sin,  and  to  love 
and  serve  the  Saviour.  Will  this  habit  of  sin 
be  mor6  easily  overcome  after  it  has  gained 
strength  by  a  long  period  of  indulgence  ?  Is 
it  a  less  difficult  thing  to  influence  the  mind  of 
the  youth  or  the  man,  than  of  the  child?  Can 
the  full  grown  oak  be  more  readily  bent  than 
the  slender  twig  ?  Why,  then,  should  wo  suf- 
fer those  early  years  during  which  our  children, 
with  the  promised  aid  of  the  spirit,  may  be 
moulded  under  our  plastic  touch,  almost  like 
clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter — those  early 
years  during  which  they  listen  so  eagerly  and 
inquisitively  to  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and,  es- 
pecially,  to  the  story  of  redemption,  to  pass 


14 


awfty  witboat  the  moat  &trcnuous  and  persis- 
tent efforts  to  fix  permanent  religious  im|>Tes- 
sions  on  their  souls  ?  Why  should  we  wait  un- 
til tlieir  attention  is  absorbed  in  the  amusements 
and  follies  of  youth,  and  evil  principles  have 
taken  deep  root?  Why  should  we  allow  Satan^ 
that  wide-awake  etfrjcator  of  the  yoang,  to  an- 
ticipate us  in  tbe  work  of  traiaing  them^  and 
by  all  the  influences  he  can  exert^  to  entice  them 
on  for  years  in  tbe  road  to  hell,  before  we  seri- 
ously and  perse veringly  attempt  to  turn  their 
fa3t  into  the  way  to  heaven  2  Why  should  we 
permit  them  so  long  to  run  the  awful  risk  of 
losing  their  souls,  before  we  begin,  in  earnest, 
to  try  to  save  them  ? 

But  if  tbe  mora]  and  religious  training  of 
children  be  thus  important,  it  becomes  us  to  con- 
sider, more  particularly,  how  this  department 
of  their  education  may  be  successfully  conduc- 
ted. 

1.  Our  first  remark,  then,  is,  that  ?/;e  should 
cultivate  the  conscience  of  children,  or  that  faculty 
{h2  Creator  has  given  them  by  which  they  judge 
of  right  and  wrong,  and  by  which  they  approve 
the  one  and  condemn  tlse  other.  This,,  like 
every  other  power  of  the  soul,  may  be  either 
strengthened  by  use,  or  weakened  by  neglect. 
We  should  seek  to  develop  it  in  children  by 
aiding  them  in  gaining  clear  moral  perceptions. 


15 


We  should  teach  them  to  distinguish  carefully 
between  what  is  right  in  itself — what  is  pleasing 
to  God — and  what  may  happen  to  be  for  their 
temporal  interests.  We  should  assist  them  in 
judging  of  the  right  and  the  wrong  by  furnish- 
ing them  with  constant  and  familiar  illustrations 
of  the  one  and  the  other,  drawn  from  their  own 
conduct,  or  that  of  their  associates,  or  from 
those  acts  of  men  of  which  they  hear  or  read. 

And  in  order  that  the  right  and  the  wrong 
may  appear  to  them  widely  separated  from  each 
other,  and  that  they  may  be  quick  to  distin- 
guish between  them,  we  should  labor  to  show 
them  the  excellence  of  the  former,  and  the  hate- 
fulness  of  the  latter.  Especially,  since  every 
violation  of  conscience  renders  it  less  tender 
and  sensitive,  and  since,  by  a  long  disregard  of 
its  admonitions,  it  at  length  almost  ceases  to 
speak,  we  should  teach  our  children  ever  to 
obey  even  its  feeblest  voice. 

Now,  who  can  estimate  the  mighty  influence 
which  a  cultivated  conscience  will  continually 
exert  over  them,  in  behalf  of  virtue  and  true 
religion  ? 

2.  And,  in  passing,  we  may  say,  that  we 
should  teach  our  children  religious  truth  even  frora 
the  hook  of  nature.  In  the  wonders  of  the  uni- 
verse we  should  bid  them  behold  the  perfec- 
tions of  the  Deity.     In  making  them  acquainted 


16 


with  the  facts  of  science,  we  should  make  them 
acquainted  with  natural  theology.  We  should 
show  them  how  strikingly  the  heavens  declare 
the  glory  of  God ;  and  weshould  explain  to  them 
how  his  unlimited  skill  and  kindness  are  mani- 
fested in  the  combinations  and  proportions  of 
the  elements  that  compose  the  very  air  they 
breathe,  the  water  they  drink,  and  the  soil  from 
which  they  derive  their  subsistence ;  and  how 
his  infinite  wisdom  and  benevolence  are  exhibi- 
ted in  their  own  bodily  structure,  in  those  vari- 
ous organizations  of  beasts  and  birds,  and  fishes, 
and  reptiles,  and  insects,  which  fit  them  for  the 
various  spheres  in  which  they  are  designed  to 
move;  in  short,  in  all  that  provision  which  has 
been  made  for  the  happiness  of  living  creatures. 
By  unfolding  this  volume  of  nature  to  their 
inquisitive  minds,  and  by  pointing  them,  on  its 
pages.  '  -•  full  proofs  of  God's  existence,  and  to 
rich  illustrations  of  his  power,  and  wisdom,  and 
love,  we  may  not  only  guard  them  against 
skepticism  in  after  life,  but  incite  them  to  ad- 
mire, adore  and  serve  the  great  creator.  Let 
them  not  shut  their  eyes  upon  the  beauties  and 
glories  of  the  universe,  nor  in  gazing  upon 
them,  let  them  fail  to  discover  the  handiwork  of 
their  Heavenly  Father. 

3.  But  far  more  carefully  should  we  instruct 
our  children  in  the  truths  of  the  Bible.     This  book 


17 


is  adapted,  by  its  wonderful  revelations,  to  pro- 
duce a  deep  and  lasting  impression  on  their 
minds.  It  teaches  them  that  they  are  under  the 
government  of  a  holy  God,  who  commands 
them  to  be  holy  like  himself,  who  hates  all  the 
workers  of  iniquity,  and  who  is  satisfied  with 
no  outward  observance  of  his  laws,  but  requires 
the  affections  of  the  heart.  It  teaches  them 
that  this  holy  God  is  omniscient ;  that  the  acts 
they  commit  under  the  cover  of  midnight  dark- 
ness are  as  distinctly  seen  by  him,  as  those 
which  are  done  under  the  blaze  of  the  noon- 
day sun:;  and  that  even  the  feelings  and  pur- 
poses which  lurk  in  the  innermost  chambers  of 
the  soul  are  all  open  to  his  constant  gaze.  It 
iteaches  them  that  they  are  immortal,  and  that 
they  are  to  render  an  account  at  the  judgment- 
seat  of  this  pure  and  all-seeing  One ;  that,  if 
their  actions,  in  the  present  life,  are  in ,  accor- 
dance with  his  requirements,  they  will,  here- 
after, be  rewarded  with  eternal  and  unspeakable 
happiness ;  but  that,  if  their  conduct  is  now  in 
opposition  to  his  will,  they  will  be  driven  away 
into  the  fires  that  never  shall  be  quenched. 
Now,  are  not  great  truths  like  these  calculated, 
under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to 
arouse  the  attention  of  children,  and  to  deter 
them  from  sin  ? 

But  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  also  adap- 

B 


16 

ted  to  toircrh  their  hearts,  and  to  cause  streams 
o-f  iove  aPxd  thank fLihi:e9s- to  their  nmker.togusb 
forth.  For  this  volume  reveals  to  Hhera  God^ 
not  only  as  their  infinitely  kind  Father,  but  also 
as  their  Kedeemer,.  so-  full  o-f  compassion  for 
men  that  he  ea'Tn-e  down  to  their  sinful  abodes 
in  human  form,  and  endured  reproach  an,d  tor- 
ture, and  even  death  itself,,  in  order  to  forgive 
and  save  all  who-  beliete  in  him-  and  obey  him  ; 
and  so  kind,  and  gentle,  and  condescending^ 
that  he  invited  even  little  children  to  his-  arms. 

The  B-ible  ailso  strmulates  the  child  to  the- 
cultivation  of  virtue  and  piety  by  its  holy  pre- 
cepts; by  its  approbation  of  the  good;  by  it& 
condemnation'  of  the  wicked;"  by  its  illustra- 
tions of  human  excellence;  and,  most  of  all, 
by  holding  up  to  him  the  perfect  example  of 
Christ  for  his-  imitation. 

Can  we  wonder,  then,  thaS  the  Psalmist 
should  have  declared  that  the  young  man  was- 
te cleanse  his  way  by  taking  heed  thereto  ac- 
cording to  God's  word  ? 

Now,  when  we  consider  how  powerful  the 
tendency  of  the  Bible  is,.  tO'  purify  the  heart& 
and  actions  of  children,  can  we  hesitate  to  labor 
to  fix  its  truths  so  deeply  in  their  tender  minds^ 
that  the  impressions  shall  be  indelible,  and  be- 
eome,  as  it  w^ere,  a  part  of  their  moral  nature? 
Besides  urging  his  children  to  read  this  book 


19 


in  a  sjSbcmatrc  mar>ner  for  themselves^  every 
father,  in  order  to  show  them  the  importance 
he  attaches  to  the  exercise,  and  in  order  to  im- 
part to  it  the  greatest  dignity  and  benefit^  should 
at  least,  morning  and  evenings  assemble  tben:k 
around  him,  and  read  to  them  from  the  Sacred 
Word }  neglecting,  indeed,  no  part  of  the 
volume,  but  recurring  more  freqisently  to  those 
portions  which  are  best  fitted  to  awaken  and  fix 
their  attention,  and  to  mould  their  hearts  and 
charactcTS,  But  ff  children  have  been  deprived 
of  their  father,  the  mother  should  not  hesitate 
to  fill  his  place  in  the  performance  of  this  ser- 
vice. And  surely.ouraitfection  for  our  offspring,, 
as  well  as  our  duty  to  our  master^  requires  us 
babitually  and  carefully ^  to  unfold  to  them^^  in 
the  formative  period  of  their  existence,  the  con- 
tents of  that  book  of  which  God  is  the  author, 
and  which  he  has  given  thcBi  fortheirdirection  ia 
this  world,  and  for  their  guidance  to  the  heaven- 
ly mansions.  Would  parents  send  forth  a  son 
on  a  journey  through  a  vast  and  dense  wilder- 
ness, in  which  there  were  many  by-paths  that 
might  turn  him  from  the  track  he  wished  to 
pursue^ — -wonld  they  permit  him  to  enter  on  so 
perilous  a  way,  without  giving  him  the  best 
possible  directions  for  his  course?  Or,  if  he 
were  about  to  make  a  voyage  to  a  distant  land, 
would  they  consent  to  his  launching  forth  with 


20 


neither  compass  nor  chart  by  which  to  steer  his 
vessel  over  the  waste  of  waters  ?  Let  us,  then, 
if  we  desire  that  our  sods  and  daughters  should 
avoid  the  ten  thousand  ways  of  sin  and  ruin, 
that  they  should  travel  in  the  straight  and  nar- 
row way  of  virtue  and  true  religion,  and  reach 
heaven  at  the  end  of  their  course,  give  them 
daily  instruction  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

And  let  parents,  even  those  who  train  their 
children  carefully  thenpselves,  also  send  them  to 
the  Sabbath  School,  where  they  may  receive 
the  additional  instructions,  admonitions,  and 
exhortations  of  faithful  and  affectionate  teach- 
ers, and,  especially,  that  their  presence  may  at- 
tract other  children  who  are  favored  with  no 
religious  education  at  home.  But  if  parents 
would  show  the  great  importance  they  attach  to 
the  exercises  of  the  Sabbath  School,  and  would 
secure  the  cheerful  attendance  of  their  children, 
they  should,  except  in  extraordinary  cases, 
punctually  attend  themselves, — as  teachers,  if 
their  services  are  needed,  if  not,  at  least  as  friends 
and  patrons  of  so  noble  an  institution.  And 
let  christian  men  and  women,  who  have  no 
children  of  their  own  to  train  up,  be  also  en- 
treated to  come  to  the  Sabbath  School,  and  en- 
gage in  the  great  work,  an  angel  would  rejoice 
to  perform,  of  preparing  the  young  to  become 
useful  and  happy  members  of  society,  and  to 
serve  God  eternally  in  his  upper  temple. 


21 


And  as  soon  as  our  children  are  old  enough 
to  behave  with  propriety  in  a  public  assembly, 
we  should  also  bring  them,  on  the  Lord's  day, 
under  the  influence  of  the  other  exercises  of  the 
sanctuary.  There  they  should  be  seated  at  our 
side,  where  they  may  be  under  our  immediate 
inspection,  and  should  be  taught  to  attend  with 
solemnity  to'  the  services  of  the  consecrated 
place.  Least  of  all,  should  they,  on  this  holy 
day,  be  released  from  parental  restraint,  and 
permitted  to  spend  its  sacred  hours  in  roaming 
through  the  fields,  or  sauntering  about  the 
streets.  If  we  suffer  them  to  violate  the  Sabbath 
in  childhood,  we  may  expect  them  to  practice 
the  impious  and  soul-destroying  habit  of  dese- 
crating it  in  after  life. 

4.  We  should  also  pray  with  and  for  them. 
No  parent  who  has  any  just  conceptions  of  the 
vast  responsibilities  resting  upon  him, — of  the 
momentous  interests  for  time  and  eternity  com- 
mitted to  his  care,  can  avoid  deeply  feeling  his 
need  of  wisdom  and  grace  from  above,  to  en- 
able him  so  to  manage  his  household  that  their 
highest  temporal  and  everlasting  welfare  may 
be  secured. 

But  not  only  parents,  but  children,  too,  need 
the  divine  blessing.  While  their  judgment,  and 
their  power  of  resisting  temptation,  are  weak  ; 
while  the  devil,  their  own  evil  inclinations^  and 


22 


the  fascinations  of  the  world,  arc  keeping  them 
from  the  way  of  salvation,  and  urging  them  on 
to  perdition ;  while  their  season  of  probation 
must  soon  come  to  an  end;  while  they  are  thus 
hovering  between  the  world  of  glory  above  and 
of  woe  beneath,  do  they  not  need  our  fervent 
prayer  that  God  would  at  once  change  their 
sinful  hearts  and  fit  them  for  heaven  ?  Can  we 
bear  the  thought  that  they  may  be  forever  lost? 
that  they  may  lift  up  those  voices,  now  so  dear 
to  us,  in  the  fruitless  wail  of  despair?  thatthe}'' 
may  be  eternally  separated  from  us  as  far  as 
heaven  is  from  hell  ?  How  can  we  consent  to 
their  goiog  forth  from  us  for  a  single  morning, 
to  be  exposed  to  the  fiercest  temptations,  with- 
out committing  them  to  the  care  of  him  who  is 
omnipotent  to  defend  them  from  evil  ?  On 
that  very  d^j  cn\  which  we  neglect  to  implore 
for  them  the  divine  blessing,  they  may  fall,  and 
their  ruin  for  time  and  eternity  be  sealed! 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  pray  for  them  dailj^, 
as  we  certainly  oiaght  to  do,  in  private.  Is  it 
not  most  suitable,  aLso,  that  m  the  very  midst 
<jf  the  families  where  thi-s  want  of  divine  direc- 
tion is  felt,  parents  should  acknowledge  their 
dependence,  and  call  on  God  for  help?  that 
where  the  blessing  is  desired,  there  the  altar 
should  be  raised,  and  the  sacrifice  offered? 

Besides,  the  truths  expressed  in  family  priiyer 


28 


lire  calculated  to  produce  salutar}'  impressions 
on  the  minds  of 'children.  By  our  supplica- 
tions they  are  reminded  of  the  atti'ibutes  of 
<jod;  of  their  own  sitifulness ;  of  the  atone- 
ment of  Chrisft;  and  of  the  awards  of  eternity; 
and,  hejice,  of  tlieir  obligations  to  humble  them- 
selves before  the  Most  High,  and  to  revere,  and 
adore,  and  thank,  and  love  hi^n ;  to  repent  of 
tlieir  transgressions-  to  trust  in  Jesus  for  sal- 
vation ;  and  to  strive  for  everlasting  life.  But 
if  our  devotions  are  all  performed  in  secret,  we 
fail  to  exert  upo?i  our  household  this  mighty 
influence  which  the  sentiments  breathed  in  pa- 
rental prayer  are  adapted  to  produ<ce^ 

Then,  too,  the  soficitude  for  their  spiritual 
welfiu-e  which  children  perceive  in  our  family 
petitions^  is  ealijulated  to  arouse  them  from  their 
insensibilit}^,  and  to  direct  their  attention  to  re- 
ligio'us  concerns.  But  who  -can  calculate  the 
pernicious  effects  upoii  their  impressible  minds 
of  the  neglect  of  this  exercise?  We  cannot 
weU  convince  them  that  we  regard  them  as  ex- 
posed to  immiiiieRt  peril,  and  that  we  are  in- 
tensely as^xious  for  their  salvation,  if  we  do  not 
pray  with  them  and  for  them.  By  our  neglect 
they  are  encouraged  to  banish  from  their  minds 
all  thoughts  of  spiritual  things,  and  to  become 
coniirmed  in  those  habits  of  ungodliness  which 
may,  at  lengthy  result  even  in  a  denial  of  the 
divine  existence- 


24 


5.  We  sliould  also  seek  to  stimulate  our  off- 
spring to  the  cultivation  of  virtue  and  holiness 
ly  our  example.  They  regard  their  parents  as 
their  guides,  and  are  close  imitators  of  their 
acts.  Who,  then,  can  estimate  the  injury  we 
inflict  on  them  by  bad  example  ?  If  we,  with 
more  of  knowledge  of  our  duty,  and  with 
greater  power  of  resisting  temptation,  than  they 
possess, — if  we  are  addicted  to  intemperance,  or 
profanity,  or  deceit,  or  any  other  vice,  how  can 
we  expect  them  to  be  virtuous?  If  we  neglect 
God,  and  the  Bible,  and  prayer ;  if  we  violate 
the  Sabbath ;  if  we  turn  our  feet  from  the  stmc- 
tuary,  how  can  we  expect  them  to  practice  the 
duties  of  religion  ?  If  we  are  selfish,,  o-r  <>rae]. 
or  malicious,  or  revengeful^  how  can  we  expect 
them  to  be  controlled  by  the  spirit  of  the  gos- 
pel? 

What  can  be  more  painful  and  humiliating  to 
sensitive  parents^  than  to  feel  that  their  children 
who  look  to  them  for  direction,  are  misled  by 
them,  and  encouraged  to  sin  against  God,  and 
to  go  on  in  the  broad  road  to  hell ! 

If  the  example  we  place  before  them  is  of  an 
irreligious  tendency,  our  other  teachn-igs  are  of 
litttle  value.  Nay,  if  our  practice  is  inconsis- 
tent and  wrong,  and  we  suspect  that  they  per- 
ceive it  is  so,  we  shall  feel  ashamed  and  disin- 
clined to  give  them  precepts  to  which  we  do 


25 


not  ourselves  conform.  But,  even  if  by  our 
words  we  do  point  out  to  them  the  way  in 
which  they  should  go,  while  we  do  not  walk  hi 
it  ourselves,  all  our  admonitions  will  make  no 
impression  on  their  minds.  ^-Actions  speak 
louder  than  words."  If  we  give  them  moral 
and  religious  prescriptions,  which  we  do  not 
use  in  our  own  case,  they  will  surely  say  to  us, 
"  Physician,  heal  thyself." 

We  should  seek,  then,  to  be  patterns  to  our 
children,  not  on]y  of  justice,  and  kindness^  and 
truthfulness,  and  modesty,  and  sobriety — in  a 
word,  not  only  of  the  virtues  embraced  in  a 
strict  morality,  but  also  of  devotion  to  Jesus ; 
of  submission  to  his  will;  of  humility  and 
meekness,  and  gentleness,  and  forbearance,  and 
forgiveness :  in  short,  of  the  various  graces  that 
adorn  the  real  christian. 

6.  We  should  also  take  care  to  guard  the 
young  against  ivhatever  is  cormipi  in  society.  It 
is  true,  that  in  the  process  of  their  education, 
they  are,  of  necessity,  liable  to  come  in  contact 
with  moral  evil.  But  this  exposure  of  them, 
which  vre  cannot  well  avoid,  is  all  that  is  need- 
ful for  the  trial  and  development  of  tlieir  vir- 
tue, and  all  that  they  can  safely  endure,  while 
their  judgment,  and  their  ability  to  withstand 
temptation,  are  yet  so  feeble.  As  long,  then,  as 
they  remain  under  our  care^  we  should  see  that 


26 


t'hey  are  not  absent  at  unsuitable  "hours  fron^ 
borne  ;  and,  as  fur  as  lies  within  a  proper  exer- 
cise of  parental  authority,  we  skould  keep  them 
from  all  vicious  company-  from  loitering  in  the 
streets,  tmd  around  places  of  public  resort;  from 
all  seen-es  of  special  temptaUon-;  and,  in  phort, 
from  every  influence  which  may  seem  more 
likely  to  corrupt  than  to  improve  their  princi- 
ples and  tbeir  morals.  We  sbo-ald  remember 
that  we  are  tbe  jruardians  whom  God  has  ap- 
pointed over  tLem,  and  that  we  are  responsible 
&)r  their -00 nckict.  Let  us  bear  in  mind^  that,  if 
tney  make  themselves  vile,  and  we  restrain  them 
not,  he  will  chastise  us,  as  he  did  Eli  of  old,  for 
our  neglect 

]n  view,  then,  of  the  important  bearing  which 
the  moral  training  of  our  children  iias  u.poii 
their  asid  our  temporal  happiness,  and  upon  the 
welfare  of  our  country ;  but,  most  of  all,  in 
view  of  the  preciousncFS  of  their  deathless 
souls,  whose  salvation,  so  far  as  human  agency 
5S  concerned,  ■depends,  in  a  g-neat  measure,  upou 
the  reliafious  cuUare  they  receive  from  us-,  in 
view  of  the  bliss  far  which,  through  God's 
blessing,  we  may  prepare  them,  and  of  the  woe 
into  which,  by  our  neglect,  they  may  sink;  let 
us  awake,  and  apply  ourselves  to  the  work  to 
which  our  master  has  appointed  us.  O  ye  who 
neglect  the  religious  instruction   of  yoiiv  chil- 


27 


clreii,  ye  careless  ones  in  Zion,  are  you  the  lovers 
of  Jesus,  and  yet  do  y-on  feel  so  little  anxiety 
that  your  children  should  love  him  too?  Are 
you  journeying  towards  heaven,  and  still  do 
3^ou  seem  not  to  care  that  3^our  children  are 
tending  downwards  to  hell  ?  How  will  you  be 
able  to  enjoy  an  undisturbed  repose  in  Paradise, 
if,  as  you  look  through  its  ever-blooming  fields, 
you  shall  not  find  3'our  children  tliere,  but  shall 
feel  that  through  your  shameful  and  sinful  neg- 
lect, their  voices  are  heard  amid  the  everlasting 
wail  of  the  lost?  What,  then,  we  do,  let  us  do 
quickly;  forlol  w^ith  us  the  day^  is  far  spent^ 
and  the  night  is  coming  on. 


28 


BEYOND  THE  GARDEN-GATE. 

"Children,"  said  Mrs.  Jay,  "you  may  play 
anywhere  in  the  yard,  but  don't-go  beyond  the 
garden-gate.  Do  you  bear  me,  Peter  "  "  Yes, 
mother,"  said  Peter,  looking  up  from  his  wheel- 
barrow :  "'Do  not  go  beyond  the  garden- 
gate  1'  "  Mother  then,  seeing  her  little  boy  and 
girl  quietly  at  play  in  the  yard,  put  on  her 
bonnet  and  shawl,  and  went  down  street. 

Peter  and  Jessie,  his  little  sister,  had  nice 
plays  together.  He  used  to  make  believe  horse, 
and  draw  her  on  his  trucks,  or  she  make  believe 
a  pumpkin,  and  be  carried  in  his  wheelbarrow  ; 
or  they  would  both  make  believe  cows,  and  set 
up  a  terrible  mooing  ;  indeed,  there  was  no  end 
to  the  different  characters  they  took,  all  the 
while  keeping  very  kind  to  each  other.  Their 
plays  this  afternoon  led  them  down  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  garden,  where  there  was  a  gate, 
hasped  inside,  which  opened  into  a  field  of 
thick  underbrush  and  trees,  sloping  down  to  a 
lower  part  of  the  village.  This  was  the  for- 
bidden gate. 

"  I  wish  we  could  go  out  into  the  woods," 
said  Peter;  "perhaps  we  should  find  a  bird's- 
nest."  Peter  unhasped  the  gate,  and  he  and 
Jessie  looked  round  and  saw  the  pretty  woods. 
"But  what  did  motJier  tell  usf^^  asked  Jessie. 
"  Perhaps  she  was  afraid  of  bears,"  answered 


29 


Peter,  "  or  the  water  in  these  woods,  or  some- 
thing ;  but  there  are  no  bears.  Oh,  there's  a 
squirrel  in  that  tree  !  See  him,  see  him,  Jessie ;" 
and  away  ran  Peter  to  the  woods,  and  awa}'- 
ran  Jessie  after  him.  The  squirrel  hid,  and  the 
children  went  on,  hoping  to  find  another.  They 
strayed  down  a  bank,  and  came  to  a  brook  and 
little  pond.  "Mother  thought  we'd  fall  into 
this  pond,  and  that's  the  reason  she  cautioned 
us  against  coming  here,"  said  Peter;  "  but  we 
shan't,  shall  we,  Jessie?"  "No,"  answered 
Jessie,  "  we  wont."  And  so  they  ran  round, 
and  tumbled  about,  and  picked  flowers,  and  at 
last  got  back  to  the  garden-gate  safe  and  un- 
harmed, without  anybody  knowing  they  went. 
"Jessie,"  said  Peter,  '' donH  you  telV  Not  if 
mother  asks  ?"  asked  Jessie.  "  She  wont  ask," 
said  Peter.    • 

Mother  did  not  ask,  nor  did  Jessie  tell,  and 
all  went  on  at  home  as  usual.  Saturday  night, 
after  the  children  were  washed,  and  Jessie  had 
gone  to  sleep,  Peter  and  his  mother  talked  a 
little  longer  together,  as  they  often  did  Satur-' 
day  night.  Peter  said,  "  Mother,  I  have  been 
in  the  woods  beyond  the  garden-gate  this  week." 
"  When  did  you  go  ?"  she  asked.  He  told  her. 
"And  mother  "  he  said,  "nothing  happened  to 
us  there ;  we  didn't  fall  into  the  water,  or  get 
wet,  or  tear  our  clothes ;  no  bears  ate  us  up. 
Why  didn't  you  want  us  to  go  ?" 


"'You  hsi  soiiietUing  that  cifternooii  in  tlie 
woods,"  said  liis  mother,  "liOat  something  t" 
said  Peter ;  and  he  thought  of  his  knife^  and 
his  slate  pencils^  ai^d  his-  ball,  and  a  three-cent 
piece  in  his  pocket ;  he  hadiVt  lost  one  of  them^ 
he  was  quite  sure.  "  Yes,"  repeated  his  mother, 
'■*  think  a  mion^ent  what  you  have  missed,  for  I 
know  you  lost  somethi  n.g,"  Peter  for  a  moment 
thought  his  mother  must  be  a  sf)Trit;  for  how 
could  6726  know  when  he  didn't  know  himself? 
"You  will  recollect  if  you  think^"  said  &he, 
Peter  pat  his  head  Lender  the  bed-qisilt,  for  lio 
began  to  see  he  had  lost  something ;  and  the 
more  he  thought,  the  more  sure  he  was  of  it. 
"Mother,"  he  at  last  said,  in  a  little  sorrowful 
voicCy  "  I  did  lose  something  m  those  woods,  I 
did.  I  lost  the  hajij^y  oat  of  my  hearti"  Ah, 
that  was  it ;  and  a  sad  loss  it  is  when  a  child 
lases  the  happy  out  of  his  heart. 

It  does  not  always  concern  a  child  to  know 
why  his  parents  forbid  him  this  or  that;  his 
duty  is  obedience.  Nor  because  nothing  be- 
falls him  in  a  course  of  disobedience,  must  he 
conclude  no  harm  is  done  ftt  all.  Peter  and 
Jessie  got  home  safely  ;  but  was  there  no  barm 
done?  Yes,  yes;  the  happy  left  their  little 
hearts.  They  were  afraid — afraid  their  mother 
would  find  it  out.  This  is  the  way  doing  wrong 
wrongs  you.     It  wrongs  you  out  of  that  peace 


m 


and  comfort  whic-li  G-od  made  yoa  to  enjoy ; 
and  all  Peter's  play  in  the  woods  did  not  make 
xxp-  for  this  loss,  until  h&  told  hi*  mother^  and 
reeeived  her  forgiveness  with  her  go<xl-nigbt 
kiss. 


4^  MA  coy,  ^1   y^ 

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